the light and the obstacle that casts it
by aemelia113
Summary: Ariel has longed to explore the human world, but when Triton refuses, she finds another option. Centuries ago, Atlantis was lost to the bottom of the sea, believed by many merfolk to be a myth. Ariel is determined to find it, explore the ruins, and excavate her kingdom's dark history. She never expected that she would find living Atlantians, let alone meet a stunning princess.


Ariel, after begging her father for years unsuccessfully for the chance to explore the surface, had finally decided to check out a human ship up close anyway after an argument about her hobby of exploring old wrecks. It was going... less well than she would have hoped.

Everything had started out fine: music and dancing and fireworks. She'd seen a handsome man and his strange hairy companion, and she was learning lots that she hadn't been able to pick up from distant observation, distorted gossip and wives' tales, or the few books that survived their submersion in the ocean.

Humans apparently had certain ones in charge of others just like the merpeople had, if the way the striped ones hurried to obey the orders of the one in the fancy hat was any indication. They had strange coverings for their— what-did-you-call-them— feet! Ariel couldn't imagine binding her fins up like that all day. They had marriages, too, since the older human was pestering the handsome one about finding a wife. That apparently wasn't any different on land than it was in the sea: your elders hassling you to still the waters and find someone to spend the rest of your life with.

It wasn't long after she learned that the human was a prince that everything went to Tartarus.

The storm whipped up out of nowhere. Lightning struck the mast and the sail caught fire, plunging the ship into chaos. Humans were scrambling this way and that trying to tie some things down and cut other things loose. The hairy companion was barking like a pack of seals. It wasn't long before Ariel was thrown free from her grip on a trailing rope and the ship was sent plunging onto the rocks.

Most of the humans made it into the lifeboats, but about a dozen were desperately treading water. Ariel may have been warned away from humans, but she couldn't let them die. But she also couldn't let herself be seen or she would expose merkind and put her people at risk. Whistling, she summoned some nearby dolphins and directed them towards the struggling men. It chafed her scales to float behind the wreckage and direct the rescue efforts without lifting a finger, but she had to be careful.

"Jump, Max!"

Ariel turned towards the shout and witnessed the handsome human rescue his hairy not-seal before a sudden boom and spout of fire knocked him into the water. He did not immediately pop back up. The other humans were shouting "Prince Eric!" but the rough waves pushed their vessel further and further away, towards the shore. The dolphins were too busy nudging a makeshift raft of floating debris full of humans clinging weakly to stray barrels and planks of wood to get to him. They had to help the survivors get back to land before they passed out.

Determined not to lose one human to the wreck, Ariel dove, searching the turbulent ocean for a hint of white fabric and dark hair. There. She swam towards him at top speed, yanking him towards precious air with both arms wrapped around his chest. She surfaced floating on her back, supporting the prince on top of her so he could breathe, which he was thankfully doing, though in struggling gasps. Ariel propelled them towards the shore carefully, with strong strokes of her tail.

The sun was pulling itself from the sea by the time they reached a beach. She hoped it was the one he'd been aiming for. She didn't know much about human lands. Exhausted from hauling a passenger across miles of ocean, she collapsed next to him where she'd managed to drag him halfway out of the water. She rested for a minute, but grew concerned when the human man didn't stir at all. He was breathing, but he hadn't so much as twitched or moaned.

Ariel didn't know about human anatomy, so she didn't know what to do for him that didn't involve smacking him awake, which might injure him further due to mermaid strength. She propped herself up on one elbow and decided to try a trick her mother used to use on her when she was a sleepy guppy who didn't want to get out of her comfy shell bed.

She sang. She picked a song she'd come up with in her treasure cave. It was about humans, so she thought he might like it. She'd even made sure it rhymed in the local human dialect, and she was rather proud of it. She'd never sung it in front of anyone but Flounder before, so she was a little nervous, but she'd been performing since she was a toddler, and this was an attempt to return him to consciousness, not entertain him, so she got over it quickly.

She was just coming to the end of the verse when she put a hand on his face and he covered it with his own. Startled, she pulled back, but she didn't move away much, just shifting to give him room to sit up.

"What, where? Who...?" he croaked, clutching his head with a groan as he sat up.

Ariel put a hand on his chest and cautioned, "Easy, there. You've had a bit of an eventful night. Do you remember anything?"

He scrunched his eyebrows in thought. "I... remember the singing, and... the storm," he rasped. His eyes widened. "We crashed. My men, the sailors, are they— ?"

"Fine," she assured him. "They all got safely into the lifeboats. Well, mostly. The ones who didn't managed to hold onto some floating debris and bob on the current back to shore. My friends made sure they made it okay. Everyone survived."

"Oh, thank God," he sighed, coughing at the tail end of it. He grimaced. "Ugh. My throat hurts."

Ariel smirked at him. "That'll happen when you swallow a lot of seawater, I'm told." She frowned, growing more serious. "You almost drowned. I was scared I wouldn't get to you in time once that big... fire-thing happened."

"Fire-thing? You mean the explosion? The fire must have reached the powder kegs," he muttered to himself. He seemed to realize something. "Wait. You're the one who rescued me?"

Ariel nodded. "I swam you to shore on the surface after I got you back up from underwater. No offense, but you are heavier than you look."

Eric barked a laugh. "Gee, thanks. Um, how did you save me? The waves looked as big as mountains."

Ariel shrugged. "I don't know what a mountain is, but I'm, um, a very good swimmer." She gestured to her shimmering green tail. "I'm honestly surprised you haven't noticed yet, but to be fair, you've had a brush with death, and maybe a blow to the head, so I won't hold it against you."

His eyes got comically wide and he gaped like the big-mouthed fish from the deep water that Ariel thought made the funniest faces. "You— you've got a— you're a—" he babbled, waving his hands in jerky motions.

Ariel tucked her hair behind her ear and fidgeted shyly. "I think the word you're trying to say is 'mermaid.' It's a lot to process, I know. We're supposed to be a superstition. You're the first human _I've _met, for what it's worth."

"Wow," he breathed. "I don't know what to say. But a 'thank you' is definitely in order. You saved my life, and the lives of my men, and I owe you an incredible debt of gratitude."

"We don't really do _debt_," Ariel said, waving her hand dismissively. "That's more of a faerie thing. Technically, I'm not even supposed to come to the surface or get anywhere near a human, let alone save one or talk to one. I let the dolphins handle things until I saw you fall."

"Thank you, all the same," Eric insisted, taking her hand. "My name is Eric, prince of Denmark. May I ask your name?"

"Ariel," she told him. "Princess of Atlantica."

"It is lovely to meet you, Princess Ariel," he replied, kissing her hand.

She blushed as scarlet as her hair and snatched it back nervously. "So, um, did I get you back to the right place, this 'Denmark?' I'm afraid I don't know much about the human kingdom."

Eric looked around. "Actually yes! I recognize this beach! It's not far from the palace. When I feel a bit more recovered, it shouldn't be much of a walk from here."

"Great! That's much closer than I expected it to be."

There was a stretch of silence, which Eric broke with a cough. "So, may I ask a personal question?"

"Sure?"

"Why are humans off-limits?"

Ariel went quiet, chewing her lip. "Well, it's partly because keeping our existence a secret means safety for our people. But my father is strict about it because when I was very young, human pirates killed my mother. Mermaid scales are valuable on the magical black market, apparently."

"Oh, Ariel. I'm so sorry," Eric murmured. "So, why save me?"

"I don't know. I've always been curious about humans and human things, pushing the boundaries of the rules, exploring near the surface, searching wrecks for treasures. I had a fight with my father about my interest in humans and snuck out to see your ship. I was on the side when the storm started," she began, curling her tail around herself. "And then your ship crashed, and after seeing up close that humans have the same things we do— music and laughter and telling stories— I knew for sure that all of you couldn't be all bad. I couldn't let good people die, even people different from mine."

Eric was smiling at her and she huffed, crossing her arms. "What?"

"Just— I've only just met you, and you seem like a truly good person. You have this... light."

She blushed. "I only did what was decent."

"Not everyone would," he returned simply. "So, what now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you want to stay and talk? Do you need to go home, to Atlantica? If you need to go, can I see you again?"

She blinked at the onslaught of questions. "Um, I can talk for a bit, but I'll have to be back soon. We can meet at this beach again, if you want. But you can't tell anyone, okay? The existence of merpeople has to remain a secret," she urged.

"Of course," he agreed. "You saved me. I'd never endanger your people like that."

"Good. So, can I ask _you _a personal question?"

"Go ahead."

"What's the matter with land princesses that you don't want to marry one?"

Eric choked on a deep belly laugh. He wiped at his eyes and started to answer, but Ariel caught his wrist and stared intently at the back of his hand.

"That's saltwater. I can smell it. You have the ocean leaking from your face! Explain."

"Um, those are tears. Humans make them in their eyes when we're sad, or sometimes when we're happy... or angry. Just, sometimes when we're feeling a lot, it happens," he summarized. "Do mermaids not cry?"

"When we're sad, it comes out as little sparkly bits, like tiny iridescent scales. It looks kinda like your gem called 'opal,' I think," she explained, fluttering her fingers. "If we made salt water underwater, you'd never be able to tell. There wouldn't be any point."

"That's fair," he conceded. "So, princesses?"

Suddenly, barking sounded from over the rise and the voice of Grimsby accompanied it. Ariel panicked and froze, but Eric nudged her towards the water.

"Go! Meet back here at sunset tomorrow."

Ariel turned and dove back into the ocean, swimming only as far as a rock jutting up from the bay so she could peek over the edge and spy on Eric as the older man led him away. The prince looked back over his shoulder and sent her a smile. She smiled back shyly and waved a tiny wave, waiting until they were out of sight and hopefully out of earshot before letting loose a shrill note of excitement, pushing upwards from the rock to crow the sound at the sky just as a breaker crashed behind her and sent a wall of spray arcing over her shoulders.

She had just had the first successful meeting between a human and a mermaid for hundreds of years, probably! It was exhilarating. Her first ever conversation with a human and it went great! Er, despite the unfortunate circumstances that brought them together. They were really lucky nobody had been killed in the shipwreck.

Swimming home, Ariel felt like she was flying. She had made a new friend, a human friend! And she would see him tomorrow! She could hardly wait. The next sunset couldn't come soon enough.

Ariel arrived early, just as the sun was beginning its descent. The sky was barely even orange yet. She couldn't help it, though. She was too excited! She waited behind the rock for minutes that felt like hours before she heard the thud of footfalls on sand. She peeked over the top to make sure that it was Eric and that he was alone, and when she confirmed this, she launched over the top of the rock in an arc and made a sharkline for the shore. She popped up in the shallows and flopped up most of the way onto the beach with a huff.

"Hello!" she greeted with a grin.

"Hello, Ariel," Eric returned with an answering grin. "I'll have to admit that I was afraid you wouldn't come."

"Why would I break my word?" she asked, puzzled.

"Well, maybe your father caught you and kept you away, maybe you had a change of heart and decided it was safer not to trust a human, maybe you had a prior engagement," he listed off with a shrug. "I wouldn't have held it against you."

"Oh. Well, I assure you I wouldn't have missed this for the world! It's the most exciting thing to ever happen to me. None of my friends in Atlantica really understand why I'm so fascinated by human stuff. It's not something I've ever been able to really share with anybody else."

"Well, I'm honored to be the first. I happen to be a resident expert on 'human stuff.' I'd be happy to answer any questions you have, if I can."

Her eyes lit up. "Would you?! I've had to make up names for so many of my treasures, and I can only guess at their purpose. I've always loved learning about how things work."

"I'll do my best. Ask away," he said, sitting beside her on the sand and spreading his hands.

Ariel eagerly dug into her explorer's bag at her hip and thrust a small metal object at Eric. "My seagull friend, Scuttle, said this was called a dinglehopper and that it's for fixing your hair. How close was he?"

"Er... no offense to Scuttle, but not very," Eric chuckled. "That's a fork, and humans use it for eating. You use it to pick up a bite of food, like this." He gently took the fork from her fingers and mimed using it to stab and eat something.

"Huh. It looks like a tiny version of my father's trident, with an extra tooth," she remarked. "But I thought it was too small to be used for anything. Do all humans eat food with these 'forks?'"

"Well, not all of them. Humans are separated into different countries and cultures, and some of them eat with chopsticks. It's like... two thin pieces of driftwood carved to the same size." He cast about in the sand and snatched up two sticks and demonstrated on a small shell how to use them. "I don't know about places I haven't been to, but I've heard people in some parts of the world just eat with their fingers or drink from bowls."

"Ooh, so you're telling me that humans do things differently depending on where they live?"

"Oh, yes. All sorts of things are different. How we dress, the language we speak, who we pray to, what and how we eat, our music, what we do for fun, pretty much everything."

"I want to learn about all of it!" Ariel gushed, fins flicking eagerly. "Ooh, but first, tell me what this is." She took back the dinglehopp— the fork, and pulled out a thingamabob, her favorite in the collection since it had land flowers carved into the handle.

Questions about the thingam— bottle opener— led to questions about bottles and what humans kept in them and what the handle was made out of, which led to questions about ivory and elephants and plains and Africa and circled back to other cultures.

They talked for hours, shooting questions back and forth. Ariel asked more than Eric, but he didn't mind talking about what he knew. He was used to people asking him about prince things like matters of state and what to do about balls or armies, but someone asking him about his adventures at sea, what he learned on them, about his normal everyday life, his family, his hopes and interests and ideas— that was refreshing. Nobody had ever had a conversation with him like this before.

Eric began to yawn and Ariel tapped him on the arm and smiled at him once she had his attention. "It's getting kind of late, I guess. We should probably get some sleep."

"Can I see you tomorrow?"

She shook her head. "No, tomorrow I have to be in a concert at the palace. If I miss another one, my father's going to be descale me. I can't risk him finding out about where I'm going. But the day after tomorrow, I can come. Same time?"

"Sounds perfect. Goodnight, Ariel." He stood, brushing the sand off his trousers.

"Goodnight, Eric," she echoed, slipping back into the sea. She arced her fins above the water as she dove, just to show off, knowing that he was watching her leave.

"Sooo," Flounder greeted when she was sneaking back into the palace. "How was your date with Prince Dreamy?"

"It wasn't a date, Flounder, you guppy. We're just friends," she whispered, sticking out her tongue.

"Uh-huh. So that's why you went on and on about how handsome and considerate he was and how his blue eyes just _sparkled_, and-"

"Shhh! Someone will hear you," Ariel hissed, swatting him on the tail. "And I did not go on and on. I mentioned his admirable qualities because _you _asked me how my mission went."

"Whatever you say, Ariel."

The next time they met, Eric had a surprise for her.

"What's this?" she asked, sniffing the basket he had with him.

"Well, since we talked a lot about different human foods the last time we met, I thought you might like to try some," he said with a shrug. "Our chef had questions, but don't worry, I didn't give anything away."

Ariel tried a bit of everything. She found she didn't care for the pea soup because hot food was an alien and unpleasant sensation for her. She also didn't like the sliced sausage on top of the dark bread, but she did find the bread to be strange, but delicious. The vegetable dumplings were wonderful, and led to her asking a million questions about spices.

"I didn't know food could taste like this!"

But the best thing in the basket was something called "Rødgrød." Eric described it as a sort of compote— red berries of all kinds mashed up into a thick paste, served cold with cream. Ariel took one bite and immediately snatched the bowl away and used a spoon to devour it surprisingly well for someone who'd learned how to hold one only twenty minutes ago. Fruit was her absolute favorite thing, she decided. This 'cream' stuff was also completely amazing.

"Dessert is the best part of the meal!" she declared. "I don't know why humans don't eat it first."

"Saving it for last makes it more special, I think," Eric suggested with a shrug. "But mostly it's so you don't fill up on it because sweets aren't as hearty and healthy as the dinner foods."

"I think I understand," she said. It was like how her mother used to not let her eat sponge cakes for breakfast. "Thank you for sharing with me."

"Any time. I can bring other things to try next time, if you want."

"Could you still bring the Rødgrød again?" she asked shyly.

He laughed. "Of course."

Eric and Ariel visited not quite daily for months. They grew closer, learned more about each other and about each other's kingdoms. Ariel's little crush grew also, but she kept her feelings hidden until one day when their conversation returned to the question Eric hadn't gotten a chance to answer the first time they met.

He arrived sighing and flopped back onto the sand, lying on his back instead of leaning back on his hands like he usually did. He was frowning pensively at the pink-tinged clouds, not saying anything after greeting her.

"Okay, you've clearly got a lot on your mind, and none of it good," Ariel informed him after a patient silence waiting for him to tell her what was wrong. "Bad day?"

"Grimsby paraded a bunch of princesses in front of me today at dinner. He sprung it on me out of nowhere," he griped. "I don't know why he won't listen to me about not wanting to marry some princess I barely know. We're a strong kingdom with everything we need, so there's no political reason for me to marry. I can adopt or let one of my cousins be my heir. I've made it clear that I don't want this, so I don't understand why he keeps pushing it."

"You never said what was the matter with land princesses that you don't want to marry one," Ariel remarked with affected casualness.

Eric fidgeted uncomfortably, avoiding her gaze. "I just can't see myself with a princess," he told her. "I don't... like them."

"But I'm a princess, and you like me," Ariel pointed out, confused. "Don't you?"

"Of course I like you!" Eric confirmed, sitting up and dragging anxious hands roughly through his hair. "I mean that I don't like princesses, you know, romantically."

Ariel frowned, trying to make sense of it. "Why not? Is there something specific that you don't like about princesses? What about a countess or other person of rank? Or do you not like the nobility at all?"

Eric squirmed, seeming to fight himself to get the words out. "That's the thing: it's not about whether she's a princess or a countess or a milkmaid. I've just never liked any _girl _romantically, and I don't think I ever will. I don't like princesses because... I like... princes." He exhaled the last word in a rush and ducked his head, cheeks flaming.

Ariel considered that for a moment. "Just men, then?"

"Yeah," he admitted in a mumble.

"Oh. Okay. I mean, I'm a little disappointed since I've had a crush on you basically since we met," she confessed, "but I understand. My friend Marina is like that. She only likes mermaids."

Eric sat up, making sudden eye contact with a look of shock and eagerness on his face. "You mean merpeople have this, too? Is it... common?"

Ariel shrugged. "Not really. Most merpeople like both mermaids and mermen. Like me! I'm just normal." She realized how that sounded and rushed to reassure Eric, "Not that just liking one or the other is abnormal! I just meant I'm nothing special."

Eric laughed and waved a hand to dismiss her concern. "It's fine Ariel. And 'nothing special' is about the last phrase I'd pick to describe you. I can't believe you accepted it just like that."

Ariel pursed her lips. "I mean, it's a little surprising, since hardly anyone I know only likes one or the other, even though everyone has preferences, obviously. But it's not like I'd be _upset_ with you for it. You can't help who you do or don't like."

"I wish more humans saw it that way," he sighed, resting his chin on his hand.

"How do humans see it?"

"Well, I can't speak for all other cultures, but in most of them, including Denmark, if you like anyone of your same sex, you're spitting in the face of God and your feelings are wrong," Eric grumbled. "We're seen as freaks, problems, or witches, usually. Some people are generous and call us afflicted with madness."

"That's terrible!" Ariel exclaimed. "You're not mad, Eric. You're you! And there's not a thing wrong with that. If your god is one who loves his children, I doubt he thinks you're a freak, either." She put her arms around him and squeezed him in a hug, trying to convey all of her sympathy.

"Thanks, Ariel," he said warmly, squeezing back. "You have no idea how much it means to hear someone say that."

"Of course. What are friends for?"

It still took time to get over her crush, but she respected Eric enough to move on and stop fantasizing about them being together. They could even talk about crushes together, now. Ariel gushed about a cute merman in her father's guard, and Eric shyly described a young groomsman from the royal stables with kind brown eyes and a smile that shone like the stars Eric loved charting on his sea voyages.

His name was Finn, which amused Ariel to no end, and she loved to tease Eric that he loved the sea so much that he'd found the closest thing to a merman the land had to offer: a man named after a part of a fish's tail. She laughed so hard upon first learning this that a few mermaid tears escaped and fell glittering to the sand. Eric picked one up, fascinated, turning it over and watching it sparkle against his palm.

Struck by a thought, Ariel dug a recently restored acquisition from a shipwreck from her bag: a captain's locket. She hadn't been able to save the picture of a woman that had been inside, but she had polished it to shining and had carefully worked a few charms to undo the damage the sea inflicted on the metal. It looked nearly new, and it would be resistant to the wear of use and salt water. It was perfect for what she'd had in mind. She scooped up a few of her tears and carefully deposited a few inside the locket before hanging it around his neck.

"What's this for?" he asked, smiling.

"Mermaid's tears are powerful magic when given freely. Putting them inside a locket would make for a pretty potent protection amulet. To keep you safe when you sail," she explained.

"I'll treasure it always," Eric promised.

Over the next several months, Ariel and Eric grew to be inseparable friends. They talked about everything and knew each other better than anyone else in their lives. So, when Ariel had the blue whale of all fights with her father about not going anywhere humans or shipwrecks, it was Eric whom she vented to, and Eric who suggested that she could try to compromise with the king.

"He's just _so_— so smothering!" she seethed. "It's like he's so afraid of anything not in Atlantica he'd rather keep me locked up in the castle for the rest of my life than risk me putting a fin into human affairs. Why in Poseidon's blue oceans won't he ever _listen_ to me?!"

"From what you've told me of him, it seems like he loves you, but he's extremely overprotective," Eric said. "Maybe if he hates humans, you can offer him a solution that lets you leave the house but doesn't involve humans."

"Like what?" she huffed.

"Well, you always make this wistful face when I talk about my sea voyages, and you love exploring shipwrecks, so maybe your father would let you go on an _under_sea voyage."

"I'm not following."

"Aren't there any other mermaid kingdoms? You could go visit some of them. Travel in mermaid areas, far away from humans. It would give you a chance to go explore and make your father happy that there are no humans involved. A happy compromise, hopefully."

"Well, there _are_ other mermaid kingdoms, but if I went to them, it would be a diplomatic thing, all stuffy and full of princess protocols," Ariel grumbled. "I'd rather swim aimlessly around the castle towers until I made a whirlpool than be stuffed into ceremonial garb and paraded in front of a bunch of royals. I guarantee you if I visited other kingdoms, I'd only ever get to see the castle and _maybe_ the capital city."

Eric sighed. "Well, it was worth a try. Guess continuing to sneak around and getting yelled at upon occasion is your only option."

"Yeah, I guess," Ariel agreed morosely. Suddenly she sat straight up, eyes lit up. "Wait! I've got an idea. What if I asked to journey to the lost city of Atlantis?"

"Wait, that's real?"

"Yes! A thousand years ago, the people of Atlantis misused their advanced technology for the purpose of war and conquering, and the gods punished them by creating a series of earthquakes and tsunamis that leveled the city. But before it went down, the queen performed a ritual to protect the center of it. Those on the outskirts beat at the barrier, begging to be let in, but it was too late, so they turned to the gods for help," Ariel explained.

"Poseidon heard their cries and, moved by pity, transformed those who had not yet drowned into merpeople to save them. Natural factions formed and they split off to settle different oceans. The people at the city center ended up being more trapped than those left outside because the shelter sank to the bottom of the sea anyway. With limited air and no fields or sunlight to grow food, they would have perished not long after the city was lost at the bottom of the sea."

"So your people are descended from the survivors of Atlantis?"

"That's what the history scrolls say, anyway," she said with a shrug. "Some people think it's just a legend. It has been centuries, after all. But that's why our kingdom is named Atlantica, in honor of our roots. I'm only related to our Atlantean ancestors on my mother's side. My father is Poseidon's son, so he was born a merman. Her family was the one that first settled our kingdom, led our portion of the group here. We stayed the closest to the city, but its location is just rumors and half-destroyed maps."

"Well, I wouldn't mind helping," Eric offered. "Maps and navigation are sort of my specialty."

"Really? It _would _be an adventure to try and find it, and it wouldn't involve humans _or_ diplomacy! Can you imagine how much cooler the ruins of Atlantis are compared to regular shipwrecks? I bet there's loads of awesome treasures and things to find. Maybe I could even get some of their old technology working again," she said eagerly, bouncing a little.

"So we have a plan to get you out of the kingdom without making your dad throw a hurricane at me in anger?"

"We have a plan," she confirmed.

Ariel proposed her plan to her father, and he shockingly gave his permission, so she raided the castle library for all the information she could find on Atlantis and its location. It took two bags and the help of Flounder to haul it all to the beach and back, but she and Eric worked for days to decipher the maps and documents. It was in a really old dialect of the mermaid language, so Ariel had to pull scrolls about linguistics from the stacks to try and translate it, but soon, she and Eric had it pretty well mastered and progress flowed quickly from there.

They managed to find out where the city had been before it sank, somewhere off the coast of Iceland, but that didn't tell them where it would be now. This is where Eric's knowledge of currents and Ariel's knowledge of undersea geography came in handy. They managed to use human almanacs to pinpoint the most likely spot it would have ended up, given the conditions at the time, factoring in the giant waves caused by the disaster. Ariel now had a starting point to look for an entrance. Now all that was left was to plan her trip and prepare for her journey.

"So, I've got rations, for when I'm in a place without food, and supplies that will help me find more," she began to list. "I have weapons and a lantern— bioluminescent so it works underwater, in case you were wondering— and maps and notes, and a bag for collecting treasures and a journal for recording my findings. I'm bringing as many of my smaller tools as I can for on-site restoration and to see if I can fix any of their old machines. Am I forgetting anything?"

"Did you ask your aunt who works magic if she had any charms to give you or spells to teach you before you go? To protect yourself or help with exploring or finding the city?"

"Good idea! Knowing her, she'd probably give me her whole shelf of potions if she knew I was investigating human stuff since it would upset my father. Aunt Ursula may be motivated by spite, but when she is helpful, she is amazingly helpful. She's the best witch in the sea."

"Glad I could help. You'll say goodbye before you go, right? And tell me all about it when you get back?"

"Only if you tell me everything I miss while I'm gone. You know I love hearing about your dates with Finn the handsome groomsman. The secrecy is kind of exciting, even secondhand."

Eric blushed furiously. "He's wonderful. I wish you could meet him."

"Maybe someday I can," she said brightly. "If one human knowing about mermaids has worked out okay so far, I can't see the harm in telling two."

"You mean it?"

"Only if you trust this boy implicitly and don't just think he's trustworthy because he has a cute nose," she teased. "And strong hands, and pretty eyes..."

"Hey! Okay, okay, I'll make sure we can trust him before I breathe a word. But I know you'd like him, and that he'd like you. My two favorite people have to get along, after all, right?"

"I don't think that's how it always works, but I trust your judgment. I promise to bring back something really cool for you from Atlantis, and to tell you all the stories."

"You'd better." He hugged her tightly and whispered, "Be safe."

"I'll do my best," she replied. "But you do remember that this is supposed to be an adventure. Exciting is usually not something that goes along with safe."

"Yes, well—"

"Prince Eric!" a tremulous voice exclaimed, and they turned to see Grimsby clutching his monocle and looking pale as a pearl. "What on earth...?" he blubbered, looking terrified.

Struck by a moment of inspiration, Ariel smirked evilly and intoned in her most dramatic voice, "I am a wicked siren of the sea, and I have cursed the prince to never love another woman but me for all eternity!"

"Ariel, what are you—?"

"Shh, play along," she hissed into his ear. To Grimsby, she announced, "This curse is incurable, and not even God can remove it, no takebacks! For the rest of his days, Eric shall never turn his eye to another woman, so says the Queen of Tides!"

"Queen of Tides, really?" he said out of the side of his mouth, trying not to laugh.

"Quiet, I'm monologuing," she whispered. Louder, she proclaimed, "Should you attempt to undo my curse or to marry him to any other woman, I will exact my revenge upon the land with forty floods and all the people of Denmark shall suffer a watery death! THIS IS THE IRREVOCABLE PROPHECY OF SHE WHO COMMANDS THE WIND AND WAVES. You have been WARNED!"

With that, she dove back into the ocean with a devilish laugh, using a little lightning spell Ursula taught her for dramatic effect. There. Hopefully that would stop them from trying to marry him to some princess he didn't like and keep them from trying to do an exorcism or something. She didn't know how humans dealt with curses. She'd check back in with Eric to see how it worked.

Two days later, she swam to the beach at sunset and peeked out from behind the rock. Sure enough, Eric sat waiting with a smile on his face. She popped up next to him with a grin.

"Sooo, how did it go?"

"You're a genius, Ariel!" he laughed. "Grimsby completely bought it! He's stopped all attempts to find me a wife and my parents are sympathetic enough to agree, cursing the name of the Queen of Tides but not trying to cure me or anything. Thank you so much for that phenomenal acting!"

"What are friends for if not saving you from a loveless marriage?" She grinned at him and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm happy for you, Eric."

"Me, too. Thank you. And thank you also for using the word 'woman' so many times. If I play my cards right, I think I can convince them I found a loophole to the curse and they'll be so happy I can fall for someone of my own free will that they won't care if it's a man."

"That was the plan," Ariel said cheekily.

"You're brilliant," he laughed. "You're brilliant and I love you, you wonderful mermaid."

"I know," she said smugly. "Hey, you are my _best _friend. I'd do anything for you. I don't know why I didn't think of that sooner."

"It seemed more natural for him to stumble upon us anyway," Eric dismissed. "Your plan worked perfectly." Eyeing her pack, he asked, "So is this goodbye?"

"Only for a couple of months," she reassured him. "Long enough for me to find Atlantis and make some discoveries. I'll be back before you know it."

"You'd better. So, did your aunt have anything helpful?"

"Yeah. She gave me a potion that will turn me into a human for a few days in case there's any parts I can't get to from the sea, and a couple of self-defense charms and a homing beacon in case I get lost and need help finding my way back to Atlantica."

"Wait. A potion that will turn you into a human? Really?"

"Well, it'll give me legs and lungs that handle air better for longer, but not 100% human, no. I'll still be able to hold my breath for a long time and retain my strength and my magic. She said it could mess up my voice, though. And that there's no way to end the spell early except for true love's kiss. I've only got three sunsets before I turn back, so I'll have to make the most of my time if I need to use it."

"Okay. That sounds like powerful magic, so be careful, alright?"

"I will. I doubt I'll even need it. I mean, it sank to the bottom of the sea! There's hardly any chance it'll be anything other than completely submerged."

"Alright. I'll miss you, Ariel. Can't wait to hear all about it. Pace yourself on the swim there, okay? You don't want to get exhausted and pass out in a bad part of the ocean with sharks or something."

"Stop worrying, you mother manta ray. I'll be fine. I'll see you soon."

With a hug and a wave, Ariel departed, off to find a missing city. She could hardly wait!


End file.
